My brother’s best friend owned my heart until the day he drenched it in kerosene and burned it down.
Grant flipping Faircross is so not the reason I’m coming home.
I don’t care if he’s gotten bigger, meaner, and grumpy enough to flash freeze the sun.
So what if he’s up in my business the second I arrive?
I’m smarter now.
I’m only back in Redhaven for my sick mother and to talk some sense into my sister before she marries a toad.
Grant ran me off once and I’m not running back.
I can handle the drama, the messy secrets, and an unexpected stalker just fine.
…or maybe not so fine.
When Prince Anti-Charming charges in to protect me, it’s kinda hard to say no.
When I find out he’s a single dad with a heart bigger than a prune, it gets harder.
And when his lips storm mine with a growl that says “stay,” oh God.
Are we really doing this again?
Especially when an old tragedy resurfaces with hard truths, stinging tears, and one brutal question.
Will our sweetest obsession finally deliver us or destroy us forever?
Ophelia left home a decade ago after her brother’s mysterious disappearance and her mother’s bout with cancer. With her family torn apart, she hoped that some distance would help her heal, but her life never really took off in Florida. She was just going through the motions and her career as a hospice nurse was emotionally draining, but she had no support system there. When her mom gets sick again, she goes home to help, only to immediately run into Grant. He was her brother’s best friend but they’d always had a special relationship, up until she left. Grant was angry when she moved so they parted on bad terms and she’s never gotten over him. But she learns pretty soon that Grant has never gotten over her, either.
He’s now the police chief of Redhaven, tasked with solving all the mysteries, most of which are deaths in this dark little town. It looks idyllic at first glance, but it’s a very dangerous place, mostly because of the creepy house on the hill. Ophelia plans to avoid Grant as much as possible while she’s back, but those plans go out the window almost immediately when she’s accosted by a creepy guy and flees her home to stay with Grant.
He’s a single dad now, raising his young orphaned cousin and that girl is determined to play matchmaker for Grant and Ophelia. But with a stalker, her mother at death’s door and her sister wrapped up in all the bad stuff, Ophelia doesn’t have the bandwidth to deal with their past. It has a way of rearing it’s head though and refusing to be ignored.
The author is one of my favorites and this book is no exception. I loved these characters and their story is just the right balance of steam, suspense and heartache. I couldn’t put this book down and read it all the way through at once because it’s just that good. I’d like to thank the author and Xpresso Book Tours for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
